1. Field
One or more example embodiments relate to information storage devices and methods of operating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional non-volatile information storage devices, which retain recorded information when power is cut off, include hard disk drives (HDDs) and non-volatile random access memories (RAMs), etc.
In general, a conventional HDD may wear down due to a rotating mechanical device included in the HDD and may experience an operational failure, thereby reducing reliability. Meanwhile, an example of a conventional non-volatile RAM is flash memory. Although the flash memory does not use a rotating mechanical device, the flash memory has low reading and writing speeds, a short lifetime, and a smaller storage capacity than the HDD. Also, the flash memory has relatively high manufacturing costs.
In order to avoid these characteristics of non-volatile information storage devices, a new type of information storage device that uses movement of a magnetic domain wall is currently being researched and developed. A magnetic domain is a minute magnetic region formed of a ferromagnetic material, in which magnetic moments are arranged in a specific direction. A magnetic domain wall is a border region between magnetic domains having different magnetization directions. The magnetic domain and the magnetic domain wall may move by supplying current to the magnetic material.
However, information storage devices using magnetic domain wall movement are still at an early stage of development. Furthermore, most of research into such information storage devices is limited to unit storage regions.